The short book of Ruth is tender and precious. It is full of humanity and hope and, especially, grace.
Ruth was an outsider, a Moabite. In fact, the tribe of Moab was cursed (Deut 23.3-4). As late as Neh 13.23-27, some 600 years later, marriages to Moabites were strongly disapproved.
Yet, the story brings Ruth, a young Moabite widow, to the field of Boaz, a wealthy land-owner in Bethlehem. Boaz urged her to remain in his fields, gleaning amongst the crops; he provided that his young men would not ‘touch’ (abuse) her. She would enjoy safety among his servant girls.
As the story develops, Ruth, urged on by Naomi, her mother-in-law, seeks something more from Boaz. ‘Take your maidservant under your wing,’ she asks (Ruth 3.9, NKJV) Part of Boaz’s response was a generous portion of grain to take home!
Jewish inheritance laws meant that his estate (and reputation) would be endangered by marrying a Moabite (Deut 23.3). This was a huge decision. Yet this costly choice by Boaz pre-figures Christ’s death for Gentiles as well as Jews.
As a result, we find Ruth in the genealogical story of David and Christ. The widow becomes the ‘mother’ of royalty and deity.